Save Article

A Debt Antidote for Flabby Pharma

Big pharma is entering middle age. Sales are slowing, and drug companies are coming to resemble lumbering utilities rather than growth machines. But their balance sheets don't yet reflect that shift. In aggregate, the net cash balances of the world's top five drugs companies are positive. That's not efficient capital management.

Take Pfizer Inc. The world's biggest drug maker runs its balance sheet like a biotech with uncertain prospects. It has net cash of close to $5 billion, including short-term investments. And this...